14 February 2022

La Collectionneuse: Valentine's Day

Let’s celebrate Valentine’s Day with a selection of 14 postcards featuring film couples. 
So, be ready for love, romance, and passion.

Nancy Carroll and Gary Cooper in The Shopworn Angel (1929)
Spanish postcard by MC, Barcelona, no. 139. Nancy Carroll and Gary Cooper in The Shopworn Angel (Richard Wallace, 1928).

Dolores Del Rio and Charles Farrell in The Red Dance (1928)
Italian postcard by G.B. Falci Editore, Milano, no. 549. Photo: Fox Film Corp. Dolores del Rio and Charles Farrell in The Red Dance (Raoul Walsh, 1928).

Yvonne De Carlo and Tony Martin in  Casbah (1948)
Spanish postcard, no. 4200. Yvonne De Carlo and Tony Martin in Casbah (John Berry, 1948).

André Luguet and Tania Fedor in Si l’empereur savait ça (1930)
Belgian postcard by P.I.A. Belgaphot, Bruxelles, no. 51. Photo: Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. Tania Fédor and André Luguet in Si l’empereur savait ça/His Glorious Night (Jacques Feyder, 1930).

Greta Garbo and John Gilbert in Flesh and the Devil (1926)
Italian postcard by G.B. Falci Editore, Milano, no. 77. Photo: Metro Goldwyn Mayer (MGM). Greta Garbo and John Gilbert in Flesh and the Devil (Clarence Brown, 1926).

Together again in Love


Casbah (John Berry, 1948) was a remake of Algiers (1938), which was itself a remake of the French film Pépé le Moko (1937). Yvonne De Carlo succeeded Line Noro and Sigrid Gurie and Tony Martin succeeded Jean Gabin and Charles Boyer.

Si l’empereur savait ça (Jacques Feyder, 1930) is the French-language version of His Glorious Night (1929) starring Catherine Dale Owen and John Gilbert. There were also a Spanish-language version, Olimpia, with Maria Alba and José Crespo, and a German-language version, Olympia, with Nora Gregor and Theo Shall.

Greta Garbo and John Gilbert co-starred for the first time in Flesh and the Devil (Clarence Brown, 1926). They fell in love during filming and this is obvious in their incandescent love scenes, as you can see on this postcard. They appeared together again in Love (1927) and A Woman of Affairs (1928). However, their affair was over by 1929. In 1933, they made a last film together, Queen Christina, but, at the time, John Gilbert’s career was in decline.

Juliette Gréco and Richard Todd in The Naked Earth (1958)
Spanish postcard by Ediciones JRB, no. 204/1. Juliette Gréco and Richard Todd in The Naked Earth (Vincent Sherman, 1958).

Clark Gable and Jean Harlow in China Seas (1935)
Dutch postcard by M. Bonnist & Zonen, Amsterdam, no. B 447. Photo: M.G.M. Jean Harlow and Clark Gable in China Seas (Tay Garnett, 1935).

James Dean and Julie Harris in East of Eden (1955)
British postcard in the Picturegoer Series, no. D 780. Photo: Warner Bros. Julie Harris and James Dean in East of Eden (Elia Kazan, 1955).

Grace Kelly and William Holden in The Bridges at Toko-Ri (1954)
Italian postcard by Grafica Fotocolor, Roma. Grace Kelly and William Holden in The Bridges at Toko-Ri (Mark Robson, 1954).

Cary Grant and Deborah Kerr in  An Affair to Remember (1957)
Spanish postcard by Ediciones JRB, no. 178/1. Cary Grant and Deborah Kerr in An Affair to Remember (Leo McCarey, 1957).

Great screen chemistry


China Seas (Tay Garnett, 1935) was Harlow and Gable’s third co-starring movie after they had been teamed together in Red Dust (1932) and Hold Your Man (1933). Wife versus Secretary (1936) and Saratoga (1937), which was Harlow’s last movie appearance, followed. The two stars genuinely liked each other and had great screen chemistry. They had met for the first time on the set of The Secret Six (1931), in which Gable had a secondary role.

Several years ago, An Affair to Remember (Leo McCarey, 1957) was ranked fifth in the American Film Institute’s list of 'The Greatest Love Stories of All Time'. It was the remake of Love Affair (1939) with Irene Dunne and Charles Boyer.

From 1934 to 1947, Myrna Loy co-starred with William Powell 13 times and they formed together a perfect cinematographic couple. They got along very well and only had praise for each other.

William Powell and Myrna Loy
Italian postcard by Ballerini & Fratini, Firenze, no. 3782. Photo: Metro Goldwyn Mayer. Myrna Loy and William Powell.

Maria Montez and Peter Coe in Gypsy Wildcat (1944)
Spanish postcard by C.M.B, no. 56. Maria Montez and Peter Coe in Gypsy Wildcat (Roy William Neill, 1944).

Gene Tierney and Bruce Cabot in Sundown (1941).
Spanish postcard, no. 625. Gene Tierney and Bruce Cabot in Sundown (Henry Hathaway, 1941).

Lupe Velez and William Boyd in Lady of the Pavements (1929)
Italian postcard by G.B. Falci - Editore, Milano, no. 824. Photo: United Artists (Artisti Associati). Lupe Velez and William Boyd in Lady of the Pavements (D.W. Griffith, 1929).

Text and postcards: Marlene Pilaete a.k.a. La Collectionneuse.

2 comments:

Maria said...

One of your best posts to date and some fabulous images.

Paul van Yperen said...

Thanks, Maria. I've let Marlene know. And a valentine from Amsterdam to you....